Senior class gifts aid Library Campaign, local nonprofit

Summer 2012 : Liberty University News Service

Liberty University seniors traditionally give back to the school every year, leaving a lasting legacy. This year, the Class of 2012 presented a two-part senior class gift, donating $15,000 to the Jerry Falwell Library and $500 to the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center.

The library is named in honor of Liberty founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr., who 40 years ago had the vision to build a world-class Christian university. The four-story, 170,000-square-foot library will be the first building at Liberty to be named in his honor and will include a museum that will memorialize his life and ministry.

For their generous gift, the Class of 2012 will have an area in the library named in their honor.

“Most of us won’t see or use this building, but someone will,” Student Government Association senior class president Thomas Turner said. “Underclassmen that come here in the future will see the fruits of our labors and that means a lot.”

Their second gift was $500 toward a mobile unit for the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center. The Center exists to offer hope and answers to women in crisis pregnancies. A mobile unit will allow the pregnancy center to reach rural areas.

Turner said the seniors wanted to do something “for the cause of life.”

“It was a really big deal for me because I am very passionately pro-life. I do believe that all life comes from God and all life is valuable from beginning to end. It’s our obligation as Christians to stand in the gap for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Turner said.

At the start to the spring semester, the senior class partnered with the freshmen class and co-hosted a back-to-school night where the majority of the funds were raised.

At Commencement, seniors who donated $20 or more wore a special green cord.